Ditch the dietician who says pasta is bad. Here’s why it can be part of a healthy diet

Next time your dietician or fitness expert asks you to do extra push ups in the gym for having pasta, make them read this. Pasta, suggests a study, can be part of a healthy diet without packing the extra kilos.

According to a new study by St. Michael’s Hospital, carbohydrates get a lot of bad press and blame for the obesity epidemic, but this negative attention may not be deserved for pasta. Unlike most ‘refined’ carbohydrates, which are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, pasta has a low glycemic index, meaning it causes smaller increases in blood sugar levels than those caused by eating foods with a high glycemic index.

A team of researchers undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of all of the available evidence from randomised controlled trials, the gold standard of research design. They identified 30 randomised control trials involving almost 2,500 people who ate pasta instead of other carbohydrates as part of a healthy low-glycemic index diet. “The study found that pasta didn’t contribute to weight gain or increase in body fat,” said lead author John Sievenpiper. “In fact analysis actually showed a small weight loss. So contrary to concerns, perhaps pasta can be part of a healthy diet such as a low GI diet.”

The people involved in the clinical trials on an average ate 3.3 servings of pasta a week instead of other carbohydrates. One serving equals about one-half cup of cooked pasta. They lost about one-half kilogram over a median follow-up of 12 weeks. The study authors cautioned that more work is needed to determine if the lack of weight gain will extend to pasta as part of other healthy diets. “In weighing the evidence, we can now say with some confidence that pasta does not have an adverse effect on body weight outcomes when it is consumed as part of a healthy dietary pattern,” said Sievenpiper. The study is published in the journal BMJ Open.

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